The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group works to help people whose rights have been violated and investigates cases involving such abuse, as well as assessing the overall human rights situation in Ukraine. The Group also seeks to develop awareness of human rights issues through public events and its various publications

On Wednesday around 25 thousand Crimean Tatars gathered on the central square in Simferopol to honour the memory of the victims of the Deportation in 1944.

People held banners demanding the return of their property lost following the Deportation and the reinstatement of Crimean Tatar national autonomy.

A resolution was passed at the rally calling on the President, the Verkhovna Rada, the UN, OSCE, EU and Council of Europe to establish their position in the nearest future on the date and place for an international forum on reinstatement of the rights of the Crimean Tatar People.

According to the Deputy Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Refat Chubarov, they have been trying to get this initiative across for a year already. They need an international forum since it is clear, he says, that Ukraine cannot resolve the problems of the Crimean Tatar People alone.

The traditional “Light a candle in your heart” took place on the eve of the anniversary. The participants laid candles to form 67 – the number of years since the Deportation.

The Head of the Mejlis, Mustafa Dzhemiliev stated at the rally that Russia was financing the activities of Crimean Tatar organizations which take a stand against the Mejlis. He also asserted that the Security Service [SBY] was not defending the interests of the Crimean Tatar People in this case.

“Yet another event with negative impact for our people was the dissolution of the SBU investigation group investigating the crimes of the Soviet regime against the Crimean Tatars which the country that borders ours demanded”.

Mustafa Dzhemiliev also asserts that there has been a reduction in the number of Crimean Tatars in the system of government, an increase in pressure on Crimean Tatar business and a sharp decline in public funding for programmes aimed at resolving the social problems of repatriants. He says that on 23 million UAH has been allocated which is 6 times less than what it should have been according to the programme developed.

The Head of the Crimean Parliament, Vasyl Dzharty spoke at the rally condemning Stalin’s repressions and promising that the authorities would help to resolve the problems of the repatriants.